Welcome to A&S Dental Surgeons Ltd in Bradford

*** We have been working hard on our plans to
be able to see priority patients from Monday 8th June***

The most important part of our plans is
YOU!

Please take a moment to watch our video on how
we have adapted how you arrange to see us and receive your treatment.

> always call us first for your free remote
consultation with our team

> we will send you any forms to sign
electronically before you arrive

> no need to check in at
reception

> pay before you arrive over the phone or
contactless

> after your treatment you don’t need to
stop at reception

> we send your receipt electronically and
arrange any future appointments over the phone

Thank you for your
understanding...

A&S DENTAL SURGEONS UPDATE FRIDAY 29th MAY

“DENTISTS TO REOPEN”

So the headlines scream in the newspapers and online…

Well, not quite so…

Here at A&S we have been preparing for a return to seeing patients face to face whilst carrying out
telephone and video consultations in line with official guidance since the first day of lockdown. So we take umbrage at the suggestion we are to “reopen” when, in fact, we have never been closed.

However, there is a change from Monday 8th June, in that we will be able to see limited emergency cases
face to face.

However, due to coronavirus, a lot has changed in how we can look after you.

Social distancing means we are unable to see patients routinely, and for your safety as well as ours,
patient appointments will be scheduled to fit around the current guidelines on the time required to provide additional cleaning measures.

This requires a wholesale change in how we used to operate, and our plan is to phase our return into
stages.

Stage 1

We will prioritise patients with the highest need.

All routine check ups remain suspended and if you have an appointment booked this will be
cancelled.

Treatments offered will be limited - due to a lack of PPE we are unable to offer treatments involving an
aerosol at this stage -such treatments are scalings (cleanings); fillings, crowns etc - wherever water is sprayed.

Stage 2

We will continue to prioritise patients based on need, and once supplies of PPE have arrived, we will
increase the range of care we can provide to include simple aerosol procedures such as small fillings and the like.

We have PPE on order, this is sourced and purchased entirely by A&S as despite government statements
to the contrary, dentists are not included in the NHS Supply Chain.

Some items have arrived, but we are still waiting for our masks and gowns.

Stage 3

During this stage we hope to be able to resume more regular care with checkups for children and adults
paying due regard to social distancing rules in force at that time. We cannot predict when this will be.

So, for now we will be continuing to restrict entry to the building.

You must telephone or email us if you wish to contact us and you will be triaged by one of the team.

We will update next week on the measures you, as our patient, will be required to undertake if you are
prioritised for a face to face appointment…

Thank you for your understanding

The Team at A&S

A&S Dental Surgeons COVID 19 Update Friday 15th May

We would like to say a big hello to the lovely children of our team who have drawn these posters to
brighten up our practices front window.

It makes us all smile when we see them especially as our door has to sadly remain closed for now.

We had another good reason to smile this week - A&S Dentist Dr Nafesa had a baby girl this week! Mum
and baby are both doing fine.

All the team send her and the family all our best wishes.

So, what’s going on with dentistry?

Well, actually quite a lot is happening. The NHS has now setup Emergency Dental Care Hubs, however there
is still a lack of PPE and the new instructions on cleaning time in between patients means access is still a big challenge. As part of a “cluster” we can only refer patients onward to the hub if your
condition meets a strict set of criteria (not set by us).

We know this isn’t going to be a longer term solution but it is at least a sticking plaster.

Our professional representative body, the British Dental Association is in talks with the NHS about how we
can move forward and get our door open even if it is in a limited way.

The model adopted by Wales involves dentists seeing their own emergencies first, and carrying out a
limited range of treatments that don’t create an aerosol. The list of treatments possible is quite limited - extractions, temporary fillings and the like. For anything involving use of the equipment
that sprays water, the Welsh dentists can refer to their urgent dental centres but only if it’s absolutely necessary.

We don’t know what our English NHS will decide is best, we know the factors involved in their thinking is
the performance of the hubs already setup, the availability of PPE for dental teams vs the need for PPE for our hospitals and the general advice on movement restrictions in force.

As a practice we have been trying to anticipate what may come and are currently in the process of setting
up a system which will enable us to see some patients to relieve pain when we can. This involves major changes to how we have operated previously in terms of; how we deal with patients calling up
with a problem initially, how we control access to the building, internal processes and procedures regarding PPE, getting forms signed etc. Finally the procedures that go on when the patient has left
have expanded significantly so appointment times would be extremely limited in availability.

All this work is ongoing and is proving an enormous challenge but one which the team is relishing and we
are certainly utilising our knowledge and skills to the full. Our primary focus is the safety and well-being of our patients and our team.

We will be ready to see patients for limited emergency care when we are advised we can do so, subject to a
stable supply of PPE. On that note we have found a source that supplies PPE some of which is actually made in Yorkshire. We have a sufficient quantity on order but are yet to receive any
however.

We are still open and available for advice by telephone during our usual opening hours. Also we will
endeavour to keep you up to date by our website and social media pages and hope you are remembering to look after your teeth and gums!

A&S Dental Surgeons Ltd - CQC Inspection Report

As some of you may be aware, before the full chaos of COVID19 ensued, we had a CQC inspection carried out upon the practice. We did notify
our patients of the impending inspection back before it was carried out, both on this website as well as through our social media pages. We would like to thank our wonderful patients who took part in
the online survey link from the CQC back at this time, and for the very lovely comments which you left for us.

We are pleased to announce that we have now received our report from this inspection and we are delighted with
the results. The CQC inspection team found our practice to be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, and we are so pleased that our daily endeavours to provide a top class service to our
patients has been recognised. Thank you to all of the A&S team for your hard work and dedication.

Below you will find a link to our report on the CQC website. Please follow this link and peruse over the
details at your leisure.

Happy reading!! And once again, we thank you for your continued support during these uncertain times which we
are in.

Let us start by saying Ramadan Mubarak to those starting the Holy Month of Ramadan. We know this will be a
Ramadan without precedent in our lives; our practice has been serving you since 1991 and it feels so much different this year.

By now, COVID-19 has touched all our lives in one way or another and we wish to send our best to all of
you who have been affected, just as we have too.

The response to coronavirus has required a huge effort by everyone, and particularly those of us involved
in caring for patients.

Inside the practice there is a lot going on. We have been advising over twenty patients a day on average
on their oral health. This isn’t just patients who are regular patients here, but others who are stuck with nowhere to get advice.

Most of the calls relate to advice on managing a dental problem, and we encourage you to call us during
working hours.

With regard to urgent dental problems, the NHS is setting up “urgent dental care hubs” which are practices
trained in, and supplied with, the PPE to carry out some of the treatments needed to relieve toothache.

Many parts of the UK already have these hubs in operation, however Yorkshire is still trailing behind. We
still do not know for certain where our hub practice will be located and whether these practices have been supplied with the correct PPE. It seems the delay is entirely down to this supply, and we
are beyond frustrated for those of you who really need to be seen. Gowns are a particular problem. The suggestion is that PPE will arrive in the “next 7-10 days”.

The hubs have very strict protocols in place to avoid the risk of transmitting Coronavirus either to you
or from the staff to you. These measures mean they will only be able to see roughly 4-5 patients in a day.

Obviously this is not enough, and we hope more hubs can be brought into service once the PPE is
flowing.

In the meantime please make use of our advice service, we have temporary filling kits we can supply free
of charge if we think you’d benefit from one, and we can arrange denture repairs via our friendly dental laboratory colleagues over in Bramley, - call us for details.

Please note that the NHS 111 service is under great strain and has no access to these hubs given that they
are not fully operational yet. We have all the latest information and we are quicker to get an answer from!

Please only call 111 outside working hours if you have a major problem - but if your problem involves a
large swelling affecting your breathing or eyesight, or you have any of the signs of sepsis you should call 999 or attend A&E. Please see https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sepsis/ for further information on sepsis.

Most of the team are at home of course, and here work is going on too. We have a secure internet
connection into our practice and are able to work remotely especially as much of our non clinical work is online. We will soon be providing some advice on looking after your and your children’s teeth
whilst at home by video and we are also working on projects to help improve the oral health of our children in the local community. Stay tuned for more…

Until next time, look after your oral health and stay safe.

Ali Azfar, Nick Shore and all the A&S Team

A&S Dental Surgeons Statement on COVID-19

03/04/2020

A note to our patients from the dental
frontline…

Firstly, I’d like to express my sympathy to any
of our patients and the residents of our practice and its area who may have been affected by Coronavirus. It is clear lots of us have been affected either through loss, illness or major disruption to
our lives.

We have been unable to provide a full service
due to HM Government guidelines as we have mentioned in our earlier statements. These have been updated and the service remains limited to telephone advice as of today.

We are becoming increasingly concerned about
the slow progress of an urgent care service being set up for you. There is no firm start date for this. Please be assured this is as a result of a lack of PPE and not through a lack of willingness of
dentists and staff to work in these centres to get you the urgent care we cannot regrettably provide ourselves.

We are able to take your calls and provide
helpful advice however, please do call us if you have a question or concern even if this relates to general oral health advice. We are always happy to help.

So, what are we doing each day in this
“lockdown” period?

For myself, and Nick as practice owners we have
been busy reorganising our service to fit the restrictions on movement, social distancing and remote dental care and advice; this is an ongoing task as each day, sometimes each hour, new information
is presented to us via the British Dental Association and the NHS which needs appraising and fitting into our practices operation. It has times been both useful, and conflicting in equal measure,
however we have adopted a safety first principle toward you, our patients, and to our staff.

Meg, the practice manager has been working
(often over the weekends) to implement some of these changes as well as managing the back office functions that are required to keep the practice in business. Work that has not gone away despite the
lack of face to face contact we have had with you.

The dentists, Arash, Tom, Laura, Katie and
Harry have organised the clinical side of the new operating procedures. They continue to work on this and refine our service to be the best it can be. After your call has been triaged by one of
our skilled nurses, if they need to refer the call to a dentist we have one of us present in the building working at a social distance. The dentist may call you back and ask you to send in a
photograph of your mouth or tooth. f you are asked this, we have setup a dedicated email address linked to an iPad to receive and view your photos. Please try and get your photos in focus - if you
have a household member (and you are not self isolating) please ask if they can take the photo as the better the photo the easier it is for us to interpret. The dentist may advise that you need a
prescription where appropriate. This is written up by the dentist in clean gloves, sealed in a plastic bag and handed to you or your representative (after agreeing a codeword) through our letterbox
in the shutter at the front door. This reduces risk for you and those caring for you. We have setup an arrangement with Sahara Pharmacy, located opposite the practice on Duckworth Lane, to dispense
any medication for you. We also have a system in place, if needed, for us to telephone the prescription through to Sahara Pharmacy and they can add it to their delivery round. We then send over
the actual prescription to Sahara without your involvement. This arrangement is only with Sahara, whose assistance has been exemplary.

I’m very grateful and humbled by the talent and
skills of our dentists - you are in safe hands.

Additionally, they are also engaged in
continuing professional development courses and lifelong learning to improve your care.

Nafesa has now left on maternity leave and we
wish her all the best with the baby due next month. Naiymah will be covering her maternity and we will let you know when she is able to start seeing patients.

Mandy, our hygienist and all our dental nurses
are also working away on similar courses and ideas to improve our service and care for when we are able to fully reopen. Of course they are also in the practice daily (limited in number to comply
with social distancing guidelines) and are answering your calls and advising you on first line care. They have been engaged in the not inconsiderable task of cancelling appointments - we are sorry if
this has affected you - we have a list and when we can, we will be back in touch. They are also carrying out essential daily/weekly tests on our high tech equipment and carrying out routine servicing
of all our expensive dental equipment to minimise the risk of breakdown when we are able to reopen fully. This maintains our safe environment for you.

Nationally, over 13000 dentists and staff have
volunteered to redeploy into the wider NHS. This redeployment is being organised both regionally and nationally and some of our team may be involved. We hope you recognise the courage and bravery of
our profession to stand by our colleagues in the wider NHS.

We are all looking forward to the day when we
can welcome you back into the practice and care for you.

We miss you!

Ali Azfar

Update 29/03/2020

Despite the statement given at HM Governments press briefing this
evening, NO PPE has been delivered to our dental practice nor to any other high street practice as far as we are aware. This is likely to be in media over the next day or
so.

We have also received new general guidance on PPE use and are
awaiting "place based settings" specific guidance.

We continue to offer a telephone triage and advice service as best we
can and the advice below remains in force for the time being.

Please see the following link for advice from our professional body,
the British Dental Association:

Following British Dental Association Guidance issued today, and HM
Government Guidance on Social Distancing, A&S have taken the difficult decision to LIMIT OUR SERVICE to telephone advice for the foreseeable future.

The British Dental Association has advised dentists NOT to carry out
any procedures that produce what is called an “aerosol”, because this puts our staff and our patients at risk of contracting Coronavirus.

All of the treatments you are used to receiving, such as cleanings,
fillings, crowns etc produce this aerosol from our equipment. In normal circumstances this is not an issue, but with this new virus we are advised we can only carry out these treatments if we wear a
special mask called an FF3 mask.

FF3 masks are (quite rightly) being prioritised by the NHS for
doctors and nurses working in intensive care.

HM Government has advised that the public should practice social
distancing in order to limit the spread of the virus, and ultimately to save lives (especially those in vulnerable groups).

Consequently, ALL ROUTINE DENTAL APPOINTMENTS INCLUDING CHECK UPS,
FILLINGS , CROWNS ETC WILL BE CANCELLED BY OUR TEAM and you will be contacted.

What you can do to help us and help everyone at this
time:

> Think SOCIAL DISTANCING and DO NOT COME TO THE PRACTICE to make
or change your appointments. Our door is LOCKED. Please telephone on 01274 541643 during normal hours for help with your appointment.

> DO NOT COME TO THE PRACTICE if you have a dental problem. If you
are one of our regular patients, telephone us on 01274 541643 to discuss your problem. We have a skilled team able to understand your issue and raise this with our clinicians. Please bear in mind we
are SEVERELY LIMITED in what we can do, but we will always try to help you.

> If you haven’t been to our practice before and require advice,
or it is outside of our normal hours, please go online to NHS 111.

Our aim is to provide high quality dental care for both our NHS and private patients. We have been in practice here for over 25 years as a partnership, and latterly as a
Limited Company.

We have built our reputation on the quality of our care, and our BDA Good Practice Award and our Health Promoting Dental Practices Award are testament to this
commitment; however, nothing speaks more than the positive feedback from our loyal patients which we regularly receive.

See what our team can do for you.

Dental Hygiene Appointments

A dental hygienist can help if:

You have stained teeth.

You have gum disease.

Advise on maintaining good oral hygiene.

Give you advice on keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

You don't have to be referred by a dentist to see our hygienist.

About the practice

Our skilled and friendly team uses state-of-the-art technology to ensure you receive the best possible comprehensive care.

News

We would like to congratulate our lovely associate dentist, Nafesa and her family on the recent birth of her beautiful daughter.

We do hope you enjoy this precious time with your new addition and the whole team looks forward to meeting her in better times to come.

Congratulations!!

We would like to remind our patients that although we do indeed offer a fantastic text message reminder service, we cannot always guarantee this service. The system we use to provide this
service is automated, and as such may fail from time to time. We would therefore recommend that our patients make a note of their appointment time and date at the time of booking. Thank you

It's so lovely to see a returning nurse Kelly. She started her dental nursing with us in 1994. She then left us for 9 years. However its so lovely to have her back!

We would also like to welcome our new trainee nurses Molly & Anaiyah

A big well done to Areej, who has recently passed her exams and is now a fully qualified dental nurse.

And an equally huge well done to Adeel, who has also recently passed all of his exams with flying colours, and is now a fully qualified dental nurse.

Congratualtions to both Madhia and Charlotte, who have both qualified in BDA dental radiography for dental care professionals. Well done!

In an effort to help reduce plastic waste we are now stocking interdental brushes with the bamboo handles.

Need an NHS Dentist?

For a limited period only we are now accepting new under 18 patients. For more information please visit the practice or call us on 01274 541643.

BDA Good Practice Accreditation

We are proud to announce that A&S has been re-accredited with our BDA Good Practice Gold Award for 2019.

A&S have been awarded the highest level (Step 3+) of this local award, which we have held since its inception. Briefly, this award recognises our commitment to preventative dental care; team
training and advice on wider health issues such as smoking cessation advice.

As many may be aware, our dentists Paresh Parmar and Paresh Nakashree have set up in
partnership together. We have two female dentists joining our team from May 2019 - Welcome to Nafesa Ahmed and Laura Ebbage.

We were pleased to help Public Health England with a recent study of adult oral health. Which is vital for the planning of health improvement programmes and dental surveys. Thank you to all
of the patients who took part in this survey.

Congratulations to Sarah - Jayne and Charlotte who have both recently passed their exams and are now fully qualified Dental Nurses

WHITENING

Due to our whitening offer price of £199 being so popular, we have decided to keep this as our permanent price, so now you can have a lovely sparkling smile for only £199! please contact the
practice for further information on 01274 541643